Funeral
by ScumFreezebag
Summary: Black Star and Tsubaki get ready on the morning of Sid's funeral.


Black Star burst into the kitchen, blowing the door down on his way in.

"Yahoo! What will the great me eat for breakfast today?" Black Star was about start his usual enthusiastic morning ramblings, but was too surprised to see Tsubaki sitting at the table, dressed neatly in a black dress, without a smile to greet his performance.

"The… the funeral is today, Black Star." She said quietly. "I ironed your dress shirt for you. Nygus said that… she would like it if you spoke."

Tsubaki watched Black Star carefully, not seeing any change in the boy's expression. His exuberant grin held, not sinking even a degree at the thought of burying Sid-sensei.

"Well, what a perfect stage for the great me. Everyone will have to listen to my great words! I'll finally be able to enlighten all those little people."

Tsubaki stared at him for a moment before nodding silently. A sudden thought occurred to her; "Oh, I almost forgot." She said absentmindedly. She walked over to the mantle of their small fireplace and picked up a small stack of papers.

"But… would the funeral of such a small fry even be worth my attention?" Black Star mused aloud, still grinning widely. "Maybe I shouldn't go. There's sure to be a better stage somewhere else. After all, how many people are going to go to some stick-in-the-mud technician's funeral?"

Tsubaki gave him a sad look. "It's too bad Soul and Maka are off on a mission. I'm sure they would have liked to go."

"Ha! You're kidding!" Black Star laughed. "I don't think Soul even knew Sid's name. That guy died so quietly, he should have taken some pointers on how to live his life big like me."

Tsubaki smiled at him with downcast eyes. She looked down at the pile of papers in her hand and started flipping through them.

"Honestly," Black Star said, "What kind of stupid way to die is that? A statue to the forehead. That guy, always acting like some big-shot assassin, saying he was a three-star meister, then dying in a stupid way like that."

Tsubaki, apparently engrossed in the pile of paper, made no response.

"You know, he broke promises, too." Black Star said. "That guy said he was going to fight me seriously for the first time when we harvested our first soul. Ha! Like a weakling like that could ever stand up to me."

Tsubaki continued to stare at the papers, ignoring Black Star.

"And... It's not like I'm scared to see Nygus cry, or something…" He said. "Bet he looks pretty stupid in the coffin, not moving or smirking or yelling at me, with that giant hole in his forehead. Maybe that part would be worth seeing."

As Tsubaki continued to stare at the papers, Black Star looked a little annoyed. "What makes those papers so special, that they're more interesting that the man who will surpass god?"

She started briefly, and then quietly responded: "Nygus wanted some more photographs for the reception. She said we had most of the best ones lying in a stack on the mantle."

She handed them to him quietly. There were several there, some of them a bit faded with age.

There was a picture of a very awkward young man, with some blood spattered on his uniform, standing holding a tiny infant like it would explode any instant. Another picture, of the same young man, failing to repress panic as a mummified young woman bandaged the knee of a bawling toddler (stupid of him to look so worried; the cut was pretty shallow, and the kid was mostly crying for the attention).

"Wow. These are old pictures." Black Star said quietly.

Another shot, of a blue haired teen posing obnoxiously outside the gates of a school, a harassed-looking teacher chewing him out.

Another, a small boy being lifted up in the air, face red with exertion and triumph. The man holding him up had the expression of a proud parent, with a recently decapitated training dummy sitting in the background.

A boy sleeping, sprawled out widely, with a dark shadow trying to stealthily rearrange his blankets so that he would be warmer.

A younger teen, telling something exciting to a tall, dark-haired girl beside him. A man's face peeked out at the side of the frame, looking at the happy duo with an expression of pure serenity and satisfaction.

There were about twenty more photos in the stack, but Black Star didn't look at them. Why did the man who would change the future need to see ancient history?

"Well, it's lucky that this great hero was here to deliver them just in time!" Black Star said. "Ninja sword mode, Tsubaki." She nodded once, transforming quickly.

They whooshed through the air, speeding across town to the location of the funeral. An impressive crowd of former students, comrades, important people, and various others were swelling into the building, all dressed in black.

A quiet woman, all but covered in bandages and wearing a sombre black dress, walked towards the door, the crowd magically parting in front of her impassive expression.

Nygus only, for a moment, felt the edge of presence; then it was gone. A stack of photos was in her bandaged hand. For a minute, a sad smile seemed to light her eyes, and then the icy neutrality was back.

Black Star landed quietly nearby, next to the outer edges of Shibusen.

"You should go to the funeral, Tsubaki." Black Star said. "I have some important places to be, but you oughta go."

She nodded quietly, a gentle film of tears building over her eyes.

Black Star set off across the roof, taking a different route than his usual one. Instead of heading straight to the most visible part of the roof, where he liked to make his speeches, he instead bounded off to a quiet, secluded area that couldn't be seen from the streets.

Tsubaki turned around, walking slowly towards the funeral. She wiped at the tears in her eyes. They were obviously messing with her vision; for a little while there, she could have sworn she saw the shoulders that would surpass god shaking as they had moved away.

**I find the whole Sid-Black Star thing really adorable. Also, I've kinda had funerals on the brain lately, so… this happened. Yeah.**


End file.
